The Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) has termed the reply of Chhattisgarh Government as ‘unacceptable’ on not being able to electrify 53 villages in Bijapur, Bastar, Dantewada and Narayanpur districts of Bastar division due to insurgency problems since 2009.
‘The reply is not acceptable because (CREDA) Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency had sent the proposal to Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) precisely because these are Naxal affected areas and more conventional sources would be difficult to be provided’ the report observed.
The report observed that as per proposal sent by CREDA, MNRE had sanctioned (September 2009) an amount of Rs3.68 crore as Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for electrification of 53 Naxal affected villages of Bijapur, Bastar, Dantewada and Narayanpur districts. The project was to be completed within one year, it stated.
‘Even after a lapse of four to five years, no electrification work was taken up in any of the village. Similarly, in four more cases, MNRE had released CFA as its share of approved project cost. However, the electrification works was not completed,’ the CAG report stated.
‘From the scrutiny of statement of expenditure (SOE), and utilisation certificates (UCs), it was observed that an amount of Rs11.21 crore was sanctioned by MNRE as its share and it had already released Rs7.58 crore. But against electrification of 169 villages, CREDA had electrified only 62 villages. Thus CREDA had failed to electrify the targetted villages even after lapse of four-five years despite availability of fund by MNRE’, the CAG report stated.
‘We (CAG) recommend that CREDA should find alternative methods and modalities for electrifying these villages instead of keeping the fund idle’, the report stated.